Alchemilla alpina
Alpine Lady's Mantle ( Alchemilla alpina)
The Alpine Lady's Mantle and alpine silver coat, mountain lady's mantle, silver herb Silbermänteli ( Alchemilla alpina ) is a species from the genus of lady's mantle ( Alchemilla ). Within the collective species Alchemilla alpina about 10 small types are distinguished, but which are taxonomically very difficult to distinguish.
Morphology
The Alpine Lady's Mantle is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches the heights of growth 5-30 centimeters. The stem is decumbent to ascending and the shoots end in a rosette. The leaves are usually 5 - 7parts, hairy dark green and glabrous on the underside but fitting silvery on the top.
The species flowers from June to August at a panicle contracted into tangles flowers. These consist of only 4 (rarely 5) inner sepals. Petals absent always, the outer sepals usually also missing. The flowers are yellow - green and can reach a diameter of 3 to 4 mm. Between the sepals are four stamens.
Propagation
Like all types of Alpine Lady's Mantle Lady's Mantle propagates apomictically, ie without pollination, clonally, continued. The seeds arise from diploid cells of the mother plant and functional pollen is not produced. This type of propagation of the exchange of genetic material is prevented and so many barely distinguishable small species have formed.
The closely related species are independent of the hunchback lady's mantle ( Alchemilla conjuncta ) and slashed the lady's mantle ( Alchemilla fissa ).
Occurrence
The distribution area of the Alpine Lady's Mantle includes the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, the Massif Central, Corsica, the Apennines and the Alps, and also of disjoint Labrador, Greenland and northern Europe from Iceland via the Faroe Islands, Scotland, Svalbard and Fennoscandia to the Urals. The species is mainly found in the alpine zone. In North Tyrol at the Great Galt mountain it grows in 2444 meters altitude, in the Grisons in 2500 meters and of Vorarlberg on High Wheel 2600 meters. Below 1500 meters, it occurs only rarely. In the lower Valais, North Tyrol and Vorarlberg, it occurs from 1300 meters in Mesocco even at 750 meters.
The Alpine Lady's Mantle grows in subalpine dwarf shrub heath, alpine meadows, rocky hallways and Ruhschutt. In the upper coniferous forest region it is found on thin places. In Vorarlberg, the type was developed in the Silvretta group in vertical crevices along with Campanula scheuchzeri optimum found. It is regarded as something thermophilic and like to populate southern slopes. As an underground preferred Alchemilla alpina silicate rocks, in addition, they rarely occurs on lime, if it has a thick humus layer. It grows best in moist to moderately dry, rocky or shallow soil, lime-free, fine- earth rich, slightly acidic, usually with low base, humus-rich, nutrient-poor rather loamy soil.
The type is in the associations alpine subalpine oligotrophic grasslands ( Nardion ), Arctic- alpine silicate rock turf ( Caricion curvulae ), dwarf junipers ( Juniperion Nanae ), Vaccinion vitis- idaeae and soil acids rhododendron and blueberry Gentiles ( Rhododendro - Vaccinion ) ( in the Saas Valley in the Valais under others associated with Pinus cembra, Larix decidua, Betula carpatica, Alnus alnobetula, ferrugineum Rhododendron and Vaccinium myrtillus) to find. In addition, it is used mainly in Valais, not infrequently, in dwarf shrub heaths of acid soil coniferous forests ( Vaccinio - Piceion ) before, splendens in the company of Hylocomium, Hylocomium umbratum, Rhythidiadelphus triquetrus, Lycopodium clavatum, Lycopodium annotinum, Blechnum spicant, Oreopteris limbo sperm, Monese uniflora, Orthilia secunda, Saxifraga cuneifolia, Melampyrum sylvaticum, Melampyrum pratense and Arnica montana. Braun- Blanquet they also indicate for the Seslerio - Caricetum sempervirentis (Association Alpine brown grass lawn ( Seslerion variae ) ). Of grave men come information on the occurrence of amphibolite at Gargellen in Vorarlberg.
Trivial names
More in part only regional common names for the Alpine Lady's Mantle are or were: Bergsinnaw, rabbits clover (Bernese Oberland), Take me nothing ( Austria ), sheep soups, Silbersienu (Bern) and Steinsinnaw.
Medical benefits
The Alpine Lady's Mantle has a medical benefit, the plant is rich in tannins, flavonoids and organic acids. Traditionally, it is used in the treatment of diarrhea application.